BL UP SP units

Southern Pacific and Union Pacific retired units line a holding track at Boise Locomotive in 1999.

Boise Locomotive

In the 1990s, many locomotives being put out of service by major railroads made their way to Morrison Knudsen, as it was known then, to be used as parts or the base of rebuilt units.  Now operating as Boise Locomotive, this location builds many new passenger locomotives and repairs/refurbishes others.  This was one scene from 1999.

Norfolk Southern helper

Norfolk Southern 8735, a C40-8, labors as a Union Pacific mid-train DP unit, near Pleasant Valley in Eastern Oregon in September of 1999.

UP9172 in St. Louis



From time to time, I photograph locomotives that I also photographed years ago. When working through some older photos for this blog, I ran across this shot of UP 9172 from Lesperance Yard in St. Louis, Missouri, from 2002. This unit was featured in this blog recently as one of two transfer units that moves cars between Albina and Lake yards in Portland. Then years apart and miles in distance, the UP 9172 got captured on film again as shown below.

Blue Island crossing



Iowa Interstate runs through Blue Island Crossing in May 1999 in greater Chicago.

On the other side of the street, CSX eastbound intermodal crosses the Calumet Sag Channel on one of the four bridges at Blue Island on May 10, 2012.

Indiana Harbor Belt - then and now

Indiana Harbor Belt SW1500 and slug in 1999.

May 10, 2012 still using the slugs with  SW1500s and a different paint scheme. 

IHB has gone "clean" with a 3GS21B shot on May 10, 2012.

As opposed to the double NW2 lashups of 1999.

Toledo Conrail Stanley Yard

Stanley Yard, operated by Conrail on the south side of Toledo, Ohio, used slugs paired with GP38s as cut and switch jobs as shown in this May 1999 photo.

Old and new (at the time)

Older Conrail C30-7A, newer CSX AC6000CW and another older Conrail SD50 pull at the Conrail Stanley Yard south of Toledo in May 1999.

A few railcars

I seldom shoot photos of railcars.  There are so many in so many different styles.  Hard enough to capture locomotive pictures. But here are three shots of railcars taken at Stanley Yard (at least it was called that when Conrail operated it, but it is now probably part of Walbridge Yard, operated by CSX) on the south side of Toledo.  The top photo was once operated by a company that would not be seen in the West.  The second photo was taken because of the distinctive color and design.  The last captured a once common railcar in the West, the Southern Pacific 80-foot plug door boxcar.  Hope you enjoy them, Sheldon.

McKee's Rocks 1999

During my first trip to Pennsylvania in May 1999, I stumbled across this old yard near McKee's Rocks which featured a CSX local switching with a caboose and a slug (2213).  In the former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie yard sat the remnants of a steam engine and some miscellaneous cars. P&LE was called the "Little Giant" because it hauled products for all the steel mills around Pittsburgh, making its tonnage much greater than its length would suggest.  Even though it was part of the New York Central, it was given its independence in the Conrail merger due to monies owed. McKee's Rocks was the main P&LE yard, its locomotive facility and main operations hub.  P&LE ceased operation in 1993 and filed for bankruptcy in 1966.  The yard is now undergoing conversion in a "brownfield" program.

Ballast Express

CSX  had orange painted units for MOW work (shown in Friday's photo).  Conrail counted with a fleet of gray colored units named the "Ballast Express" in 1999.  This was another fairly unusual unit, a C32-8.

Single engine auto rack train

My first photo of single engine trains is this shot of a Norfolk Southern auto rack train near Huron, Ohio, pulled a train of pickups and small trucks away from the Ford plant there.  Having grown up in the moutains of Idaho and Oregon and seeing multiple units on every train because of the terrain, it was a wonder that the land was flat enough that one unit as capable of pulling an entire train, even something as light as an auto rack train.

B23-7 Conway Yard

Even in 1999, when this B23-7 was photographed at Conway Yard north of Pittsburgh, this unit was not that common, being used mostly by eastern railroads such as Conrail.  ATSF did have a number of them that were used mostly in yards in middle United States.  A few did make it to the Pacific Northwest too.

MOW Willard, Ohio

In 1999, CSX was using a number of brightly painted orange units designated for use with work trains for maintenance of way activities.  This unit was spotted near Willard, Ohio.

B23-7 Toledo

In May 1999, Conrail was using a B23-7 as one of its hump units at its Toledo, Ohio yard.  The yard today is operated by CSX now and uses no hump for switching.

CORP in Coos Bay

Two Central Oregon & Pacific GP38-2s prepare to attach to cars in the Coos Bay yard in the south end of the city.  This shot was probably take in the late 1990s or early 2000s. 

PDX cement

Former Southern Pacific switcher, recently added to the Union Pacific fleet as a Yard unit, switches the cement plant near Albina Yard in Portland, Ore. in early 2000s.

GP59 in Blissfield, MI

In addition to the GP9 of the Adrian & Blissfield, the Norfolk Southern had this GP59 parked in Blissfield in May 1999, along with an NW caboose.

Adrian & Blissfield

Adrian & Blissfield in southern Michigan runs a tourist train in addition to their freight operations.  In May 1999, this GP9 was sitting in their Blissfield yard.

C39-8 in Toledo



On the south side of Toledo, Ohio, in a community called Walbridge, are side by side yards. In 1999, Conrail operated one and CSX operated the other.  Here is a C39-8 (behind an SD60M), a fairly rare unit, pulled a train of auto racks out of the Walbridge Yard.  In the CSX=Norfolk Southern takeover of Conrail, CSX got the Toeldo Wallbridge Yard as NS already had its own yard in Toledo.

Steel Mill units in Conway Yard

One of the interesting occurences during a trip railfanning is finding unusual power.  During a May 1999 Pennsylvania trip, these two ex US Steel switchers were spotted at Conway Yard north of Pittsburg.

Center cab switcher



This GE 70-ton switcher operated at a Trinity Car shops in Butler, Penn. in May 1999. 



Ashtabula Ohio

There is developing controversy over announced plans to develop coal exporting ports in the Pacific Northwest like Longview, Aberdeen, Coos Bay, and Columbia River near Clatskanie.  Eastern Great Lakes ports and Atlantic ports have exported coal for years.  Here is a photo of Ashtabula, Ohio, in 1999.

Horseshoe display

Pennsylvania Railroad GP9 7054 rests on permanent display at Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, Penn. Shot taken in May 1999.

Horseshoe Curve ascending

Rail tracks for the gondola leading from the parking area to the observation area and GP9 display next to Horseshoe Curve in Pennsylvania from 1999.

GE test track, Erie, PA

The 7172, a brand new Union Pacific C44AC being tested with GE unit on the test tracks in Erie, Penn. in May 1999.

Horseshoe train

Conrail intermodal powered by three SD40-2s and a SD60 ascends Horseshoe Curve in Pennsylvania on May 24, 1999. 

Altona, PA shops

In May 1999, I was able to make the first of several trips east through Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania railfanning numerous locations such as Altoona Shops, then operated by Conrail as shown above.

C30-7 transition

By August 1999, when this picture was taken, several of the Burlington Northern's C30-7s had already gone off BN roster and were traveling under the Ater Group reporting marks of ATGX.

Blasting past semaphores

In the early 1990s, Southern Pacific mid-train helpers blast over a bridge and past the semaphores in Drain, heading north to Eugene from Medford.